fall on
Britishverb
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Also: fall upon. to attack or snatch (an army, booty, etc)
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to fail, esp in a ridiculous or humiliating manner
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to emerge unexpectedly well from a difficult situation
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Also, fall upon.
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Attack suddenly and viciously, as in They fell on the guards and overpowered them . [c. 1400]
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Meet with, encounter, as in They fell on hard times . [Late 1500s]
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Find by chance, discover, as in We fell upon the idea last Saturday night . [Mid-1600s]
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Be the responsibility or duty of someone, as in It fell on Clara to support the entire family . [Mid-1800s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with fall on .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nobody has managed to get them over the line since 1966, and the responsibility usually does fall on the strikers or the captain.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
“This happens because the stocks fall on the initial announcement of an investigation and rise once investors realize that Congress is not unified or there is no imminent credible government action,” they said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
A global rally in artificial intelligence-linked stocks stalled in early European trade, while oil prices reversed course to fall on rising hopes for a diplomatic settlement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Flood peaks reaching India are often generated not in the high Himalayas but lower down, in the Siwaliks, Chure and Terai, where intense monsoon rain can fall on steep, small catchments.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
My eyes fall on the treasure chest charm hanging around Soojin’s neck.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
